KBI Director: Fentanyl and child cybercrimes 'on the rise' in Kansas

TOPEKA (KSNT)- According to Kansas Bureau of Investigation Director Tony Mattivi, fentanyl-related crimes and internet crimes against children in Kansas are on the rise.

The latest crime report shows that violent crime and property crime dropped in 2022.

However, Mattivi said what's not included in the report is the agency's greatest concern.

"What's not reflected in the report are two particularly disturbing areas...We're still seeing increases, in fact, huge increases in fentanyl numbers... and we're still seeing huge increases in the number of internet crimes against children... and those aren't taken into account by this crime index," Mattivi told Kansas Capitol Bureau in an interview on Monday. "The things that we're really concerned about are the amount of fentanyl that's being brought into our state...that still appears to be on the rise... the amount of overdoses attributed to fentanyl... those are still on the rise..."

While violent crime and property crime declined in 2022, Mattivi said they still haven't returned to pre-pandemic rates.

"The decreases that we're seeing are great, but that really isn't reflective of the full picture, and we want to make sure that those decreases don't lull people into a false sense of security," Mattivi explained.

Violent crime is 9.2% higher than the 10-year average.

"Although it's decreasing the last two years, the crime rate is still relatively high," Mattivi said. "So, what we're seeing is good news, but it still has to be tempered with the context that it's in."